Perfect
by Annabelle Graceton
Summary: A story of friends at the crossroads of life. This story is based off of the music video/trailer "Perfect" that was done on the Actability week of The Glee Project Season 2. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A FAN OF THE SHOW TO ENJOY THIS STORY. Link for Perfect trailer: /watch?v pfPQUf65 yY
1. Chapter 1

**_Prologue Summary_  
**

A story of friends at the crossroads of life.

Ali is struggling to overcome the anger and devastation of losing every chance of becoming an Olympic athlete after losing the use of her legs in a car accident that was caused by someone that she had once cared deeply about.

Lily is struggling with the grief and guilt of knowing that it is her fault that her once best friend is now in a wheelchair. And she's not the only one who knows - the whole town knows it too.

Michael, apart from dealing with his sister's anguish, has always had to play second fiddle to his best friend and teammate, someone that he, along with everyone else, has idolized for years. But their relationship is about to change because something unexpected happened: he started to fall for his best friend's girl.

Blake is the star quarterback that everyone admires. He has it all: admirers who fawn over him, teammates who look up to him, and a cute girlfriend who loves him. But this golden boy isn't as perfect as everyone believes he is.

Aylin, the daughter of two very strict Muslim parents, has kept her relationship with her boyfriend a secret, fearing her parents' reactions to her breaking of the normal traditions. But that secret is about to be ripped open in a way that she never saw coming.

Chapter 1

**Ali & Michael**

Lights flashed before her eyes as she started to regain consciousness. The overwhelming sense of pain inflamed the lower half of her body and she let out a deep moan.

"Ali! Hang in there, Ali!" the voice was familiar, but she couldn't place it, the pain making it too hard to concentrate. "Please don't die! You're a fighter, Ali! Just keep fighting! Keep holding on!" A blurred face flashed before her eyes.

"It hurts," she moaned, trying to reach for her legs.

"It's going to be okay, Ali," the voice tried to comfort her, but she could hear the desperation in it.

"Please, don't let my sister die!" this was directed at someone else, not to her.

_My sister..._ their words echoed through her head, and very slowly she realized who it was.

"Michael," she tried reaching for him, but the world continued to spin and blur around her.

"I'm right here, Ali," a hand grabbed hers and held onto it as if it never wanted to let go. She squeezed the hand tightly, willing the pain to stop but it didn't.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay out here," an unfamiliar voice said and suddenly Michael's hand was slipping away from hers.

"Michael!" she cried, panicking. The pain was starting to become too much for her, and as she screamed her brother's name one last time, her vision blacked out and she saw nothing more.

"Ali! Ali! Wake up!" someone was shaking her, jolting her awake. Her eyes flew open and there was Michael, looking down at her with concern.

"Ali, are you okay?" he asked. "You were screaming my name in your sleep."

Ali let out a deep sigh of relief. It had just been a dream. She hadn't been in a car crash. She wasn't in the hospital, being rushed into emerge. Her legs weren't in immense pain. Her legs...

_Won't move! _she panicked, trying hard to move the limbs without success. She tore off her blankets and stared numbly at her unmoving legs.

Ali felt her heart sink in her chest. It wasn't a dream, it was a memory. A memory of the day that she had lost not only the ability to walk, but also any chance of achieving her one true dream: to be an Olympic athlete.

Ali felt tears starting to roll down her cheeks and she instinctively tried to turn her head away so that Michael wouldn't see her crying. Unfortunately, a sob escaped from her throat, alerting her brother to her sadness.

"It's going to be okay, Ali," he said, sitting down on the bed beside her and pulling her into a hug. "It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not!" Ali bawled. "Look at me! I'll never be able to swim again! All of those years of training, gone down the drain! All of my dreams, just crushed in an instant! I've lost everything!" She broke down sobbing, the tears flowing faster and heavier now.

Michael sighed. This was not the first time in the past three months that they had had this conversation. He could not even begin to imagine how his sister felt, going through what she had and feeling like she had lost everything, but he always tried his best to comfort her however he could.

"Ali, you didn't lose everything," he sighed, hugging her tightly to him. "You're still alive. The doctors said that you shouldn't have survived that crash, but yet here you are, still breathing, still holding on. You're a fighter, Ali. You always have been and always will be. I know that things seem tough and bleak right now, but things will get better, I promise."

"But everything was so perfect before!" Ali cried, tears streaming down her face. "Everything was perfect! I had the perfect dream, the perfect body-"

"You are still perfect, Ali," Michael argued, turning her to look at him. "How long is it going to take for you to realize that? Ali, you don't need to be able to walk to be perfect! You are so beautiful and I just wish that you could see that! You are perfect, Ali. Maybe you don't see that right now, but I do."

"Then what you see is a lie," she replied softly, turning away from him. Michael sighed, tired of fighting with her about this, and slowly got to his feet. He slowly walked towards the door to return to his own room across the hall, but paused by the small, vibrating phone sitting on Ali's vanity.

"It's Lily," he told her, reading the name on the screen. "You should really talk to her, you know. This hasn't been easy for her either and you shutting her out just makes it even worse." He carefully picked up the phone and tossed it onto her bed.

"Talk to her," he insisted. Ali didn't reply. With another sigh, Michael turned to leave, pausing again briefly in the doorway.

"You are perfect, Ali," he said softly over his shoulder. "I just hope that someday you'll be able to see that too." And then he was gone.

Ali remained still for a moment, waiting to make sure that he was really gone before turning her attention on the phone lying abandoned on her bed. She slowly reached for it and pulled it onto her lap. She stared down at the small device in her hands for a few minutes before she was able to summon the courage to open it. There were thirty-four new text messages and six missed calls, almost all of them from Lily.

_Lily._ Ali had mixed feelings when she thought about her. Lily had once been her best friend, the one person that Ali could talk to about anything, but that friendship had been shattered and Ali didn't know if they could ever go back to the way they were before.

_Before my life was destroyed,_ she thought, half bitterly. Ali felt anger flare up inside of her and she suddenly chucked her phone across the room. It crashed into her wall and fell to the floor, surprisingly still in one piece. This upset Ali even more, because a part of her had wanted it to break into a million pieces and she suddenly found herself overwhelmed with emotions.

She turned and buried her face in her pillow, allowing the tears to flow again. Her exhaustion finally caught up with her and she ended up crying herself to sleep. This was not the first time that this had happened and it would not be the last time either.

Across the hall, lying in his own bed, Michael felt a tear of his own run down his cheek as he wished for the millionth time that Ali would finally realize just how special she was, that she didn't have to be perfect to be perfect.


	2. Chapter 2

_First of all, I would like to apologize on taking so long to update this. I don't know why, but I had trouble finishing this chapter. And I'm sorry for the length. I promise, the upcoming chapters will be longer and will not take as long to upload._

_I would just like to send out a thanks to all of the new followers to this story: **NorahsaurusRex**, **obnoxiouskisses**, **Punkn'mice**, **SoulSurerfan116**, _**_Britgleek_**_,__ **Catnip-WiseGirl007**, **hhcoolmv1**, **LoveAng****el1705**, **XloveXconquersXallX**, & **LadyAnnabellaRose**._

_Thank you to __**Punkn'mice**, **SoulSur**_**ferfan116**, **_Catnip-WiseGirl007_**_,_& **xgleekablex** for favouriting this story and thank you to **Nicole**, **jedi-watchman1**, & **Guest** for commenting.  


_More (longer) chapters to come soon! Enjoy! Please leave me a review to let me know your thoughts! :)  
_

Chapter Two

**Lily & Aylin**

Lily sat on her bed, staring at her phone, willing it to ring. But it never did. Her straight, light caramel brown hair fell in front of her tear-blurred pale grey eyes as she stared intently at the silent phone grasped tightly in her hands.

"Staring at that won't make her call you any faster," a familiar voice commented. Lily smiled as she looked up at the girl standing in her doorway. Her reddish brown hair was tied back in a ponytail that fell over her shoulder and her deep chocolate brown eyes were twinkling as she smiled at Lily.

"Hey, Aylin!" Lily smiled, standing up and hugging her as she stepped into the room.

"Hey, Lily," she laughed, hugging her back before stepping away. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright, I guess," Lily sighed, glancing back at the phone lying on her bed.

"She'll call you when she's ready," Aylin said, turning Lily away from the phone back towards her. "She just needs time to work through everything."

"Aylin, it's been five months since the accident!" Lily exclaimed, releasing all of her frustration on her friend. "How much time does she need?!"

"Lily, she's had to go through a lot in the past few months," Aylin sighed. "It's a lot for anyone to process. She's still struggling to adjust to everything that's happened. Give her time. She'll come around eventually."

"Yeah, I guess," Lily sighed, wanting nothing more than to change the conversation. "So how are things with you and Blake? Your parents know yet?"

Aylin blushed at the mention of her boyfriend's name. She still couldn't believe sometimes that she was dating the star quarterback of their school's football team. He was the most popular and hottest guy at their school and yet somehow he had chosen her to be his girlfriend.

"Things are good," she blushed. "And my parents are still in the dark about it." Aylin sighed as she thought about her parents. They were very strict when it came to following the customs and traditions of their religion. Aylin was Muslim and though she was proud of it, she hated the restraints that it tried to have on her life.

Her parents would have never approved of her having a boyfriend, especially not a boyfriend like Blake. They would kill her if they ever found out about him. They didn't even like the idea of her kissing a guy, which was something that she was not a virgin to doing.

She felt butterflies in her stomach as she thought about her first kiss with Blake. It had been behind the bleachers after one of his many football practices. She had been watching him practice, something that she often did before they had even started dating, and that was when he had first started to notice her.

He had come up to her after the practice and had asked her what her favourite part of the practice was. Her response had been sudden and spontaneous, something that she would have normally never have said.

"Watching you," was all that she had said and, with a smile, he had taken her hand and led her down behind the bleachers where they had shared their first kiss. And from that moment on, they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Aylin had never felt more special in all of her life.

"Hello, earth to Aylin!" Lily's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Sorry," Aylin blushed again sheepishly.

"You were thinking about him again, weren't you?" Lily laughed, which was the first time in a long time that she had done so. Aylin smiled, happy to have made her friend laugh, as she slowly nodded.

"Yeah, maybe," she admitted with a smile.

"So, do you know what the guys are planning on doing for the victory party?" Lily asked.

"They have to win first to be able to have a victory party," Aylin laughed.

"Where's your faith, girl?" Lily exclaimed, nudging her lightly. "You don't think that your man is going to win?"

"No, I don't think so," she replied nonchalantly. "I know so!" This caused Lily to laugh again.

"And to answer your question, no, I don't know," Aylin admitted. "I think that Blake mentioned something about Michael planning the party."

Lily felt her heart skip a beat. Michael was Ali's sister. Maybe she could talk to him about her, get him to convince Ali to call her...

Just as she thought that, her phone suddenly started to ring. Lily quickly dove at the phone still on her bed, earning her a loud laugh from Aylin. Her breath faltered for a moment when she read the name on the screen. Ali.

"Hello?" she said tentatively as she answered the phone.

"Hi, Lily," Ali's voice was quiet and just as tentative. "We need to talk."


	3. Chapter 3

****_A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's taken me so long to update. I promise I will not be this bad. I hope to update at least once a week. It's hard to find time to write between work, school, and my other story, If You Only Knew. I will try my best to update more often.  
_

_Thank you to my new followers, **UConnHusky90** & **Anouki90**. Thank you also to **jedi-watchman1** for favouriting this story. Thank you to **Anouki90**, **areuacat**, & **Michaelhubby3** for commenting. :) I am so thrilled that you guys are liking this story so far. I have a lot of ideas of things to come :) And you may recognize different parts from scenes in the video. I did my research :)  
_

_As always, I hope that you enjoy this new chapter! :)  
_

* * *

**Michael & Blake**

Michael pounded his fist down on the steering wheel, a loud horn blaring out at the tall, white house before him.

"_I'm coming_!" There was a slight hint of anger in his friend's tone as the older boy walked towards Michael's red pickup truck. Well, it technically wasn't his, it was his parents', but he liked to pretend that it was his.

Michael watched as his friend opened the passenger side door and slid onto the seat beside him, loudly slamming the door behind him.

"Why are you so worked up, Blake?" Michael asked, turning his body towards his friend, leaning his arm against the steering wheel. The older boy glared at him slightly with his deep brown eyes before rolling them and sharply turning his head away, flipping his shaggy, light brown hair as he did so.

"It's nothing," Blake snapped, looking out the window. "Just drive."

Michael sighed as he shifted the truck into reverse. He was used to Blake's erratic behavior as he knew that he was often under a lot of stress and pressure. Not only was he the star quarterback of their football team, he was also the only son of Thomas Jenner, the town sheriff, and Carol Jenner, the head of the parent committee... and practically every other committee that their small town had. They had both been perfect students and they expected their son to be the same, much to his regret.

Blake sighed as he thought about the fight that he had just had with his parents.

"Where are you going?" his father had demanded.

"Out," was his curt reply as he slid his letterman jacket on and headed for the door.

"_Blake Thomas Jenner_!" his father's voice was stern, making him stop in his tracks. "I asked you a question, to which I expect a real answer!" Just then, a loud honk sounded through the house.

"Michael's here," Blake mumbled, heading for the door again, but it was suddenly blocked by his father's large, bulky frame.

"You still have not answered my question," he said, crossing his thick arms over his broad chest.

"I'm going to hang out with Michael," Blake snapped, trying to move past his father.

"And when will you be home?" his father persisted, not letting him by.

"I don't know!" Blake exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

"That is not an answer, Blake," his father reminded him.

"I guess it really all depends," Blake sneered, starting to get frustrated with his father. "Cause once they kick us out of the bar for being too wasted, we'll probably drive around for a while, on the sidewalks, of course, and see how many people we can scare and try not to run over. Then maybe we'll go pick up some chicks and have some real fun." Blake roughly pushed past his dad, his eyes on the door, but was stopped once again as his father roughly grabbed his arm.

"_Blake_-" Anger was lacing through his voice and when he looked up, Blake could see his father's cheeks starting to turn red.

"Chill, dad," Blake rolled his eyes as he tore his arm out of his father's grip. "I was kidding. I would never do anything to tarnish the _perfect _Jenner name. Now if you'll excuse me, Michael's waiting for me."

And with that, he turned and pushed open the door, slamming it back against the side of the house. As he walked down the driveway, another honk sounded from the red truck parked there and Blake found himself yelling, "_I'm coming_!" He threw open the passenger side door, slamming it shut behind him as he slid into the seat beside the lanky, dark haired kid behind the wheel, the golden-brown eyed boy that he called his best friend.

As they drove down the road, Blake felt a pair of eyes on him and with a sigh, he turned to look at Michael, who was stealing small glances at him as he drove.

"What?" Blake snapped.

"Everything okay?" Michael asked. He was always so concerned for Blake and it did comfort him slightly knowing that he had at least one person looking out for him.

"I'm fine," Blake sighed, looking back out the window. "It's just my parents. You know, the usual."

Michael nodded, though he knew that his friend wasn't watching.

"So," he said instead, trying to change the subject. "How are things with you and Aylin?" This made Blake perk up a bit. Aylin was the one good thing that he had going for him right now. Blake never usually stayed with a girl for more than three days, a week tops, but his relationship with Aylin had broken through that norm, their one month anniversary of being together being just a couple of days away. The same day as their big championship game.

"Things are good," Blake smiled. Michael noticed this and smiled as well, happy with the effect Aylin had on him. It seemed like she was the one thing that kept him grounded. They really were a perfect match.

_Unfortunately,_ Michael couldn't help the thought from crossing his mind. He hurriedly pushed the thought away, knowing that his best friend's girlfriend was totally off bounds. But even that knowledge couldn't stop the butterflies that appeared in his stomach whenever she was around.

"So, have you done '_it_' yet?" Michael asked tentatively, not fully wanting to know the answer.

"Not yet, but soon," Blake smirked. "We're planning on doing it after the victory party on Saturday, you know, since it's our '_one month anniversary_' and all." He seemed to find this amusing. "Oh, by the way, did you find someplace for us to have that yet? The victory party?"

"Yeah, actually, I did," Michael smiled, turning down onto a familiar dirt road. "Mr. Ulrich said that we could have it in his barn since we've been helping him out around the farm. That's actually where we're heading now. He called me and asked if we could help him move some bales of hay. I figured that you wouldn't mind, especially now, since throwing around the bales helps you vent out your frustration with your parents. And I just really needed to get out of my own house."

"Ali problems again?" Blake asked, sympathetic to his friend's sensitive predicament.

"Sort of," Michael sighed, pulling up in front of the old, wooden barn belonging to Mr. Ulrich. "I finally convinced her to talk to Lily."

"Lily..." the name sounded familiar but Blake struggled to place it. "Oh wait, wasn't she the girl that-"

"Yes, she was," Michael cut him off, avoiding his eye contact as he shifted the truck into park. "They're going to talk through things... and I just didn't really want to be around there when it happened. I didn't want Ali using me to help her talk to Lily. This is something that they have to work through themselves."

"I totally understand," Blake nodded slowly, opening the door and hopping down out of the truck.

"Michael! Blake!" a familiar voice called out. They both looked up to see a tall, lanky man walk out of the barn. He had short, dark hair, which matched the pair of black framed glasses that sat over his dark brown eyes.

"Hey, Mr. Ulrich!" Michael smiled, lifting a hand in greeting.

"Now Michael," the man laughed. "How many times have I told you to just call me Rob?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ulri- umm, Rob," Michael laughed. "Force of habit, I guess." Blake smiled as he watched his friend getting flustered in front of their boss. Michael was very proper and was what most people would call a true gentleman. He struggled to call any adult by their first name, often reverting back to calling them Mr. or Mrs. so-and-so.

"So," Blake said, turning his attention back to the older man. "What did you need us to do today?" Michael smiled over at his friend, thankful for the change of subject.

"There's a couple of bales out in the field," Rob smiled, turning his attention on Blake. "If you guys could bring them back here to the barn, that would be great."

"Yep, no problem," Blake smiled. "Shall we?" He turned and hopped back into the truck, Michael following his lead.

"We'll be back in a flash with those bales," he called out to Rob as he started to drive the truck out towards the field.

Within minutes, the two boys were standing behind the old pickup, loading the heavy bales of golden hay into the back of it. It didn't take long for the sweat to start to show on their shirts as the hot rays of the sun beat down on their backs.

"I think that's the last of it," Michael said as he threw the last bale onto the back of the truck.

"Good," Blake exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "It's boiling out here! I say we go dump these, grab Aylin, and go down to the pond for a swim!"

"Sounds good to me!" Michael smiled. They hopped back into the truck and drove back to the barn where Rob was waiting for them.

"Done already?" he joked as the two boys got out of the truck.

"I told you that we'd be back in a flash!" Blake flashed him a smile as he opened the back hatch of the truck. He hopped up into the back and grabbed one of the bales, quickly passing it to Michael, who started to pile it over against the wall where Rob directed him to put it. Spurred by the idea of going to the pond, they quickly finished the job and got back in the truck.

"Thanks for your help, boys!" Rob called out as they started to drive away.

"No problem!" Blake called back out the window, waving goodbye. As soon as they were gone from his sight, Blake quickly pulled out his phone and texted Aylin.

Blake: _Hey babe, me and Michael are going to the pond. You in? :)_

Within seconds, he got his reply.

Aylin: _I'm in! I'll meet you guys there!_

Blake: _You sure? We could pick you up..._

Aylin: _No no no. It's ok. I'm fine. I'm going to bike over. See you soon!_

Blake: Alright, see you soon :)

Blake closed his phone and slid it back into his pocket.

"Ok, Aylin is in," Blake told Michael. "She's going to meet us there."

"Sounds good," Michael smiled, happy that Aylin was going to come. She always made things lighter, more fun.

"I'm glad that you two get on so well," Blake commented, noticing Michael's smile. "It would suck if my best bud didn't get along with my girl."

"Me too," Michael replied softly. "You could almost say it's as if we were _meant _to be friends."

_Meant to be friends... _He hid the small sigh from Blake. _And maybe even more._


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey guys! Sorry I'm so late uploading this! I got crazy sick and I haven't been well for the past couple weeks, but I'm finally better again and writing! _

_Thank you to **Inkweaverzyx88** and **jedi-watchman1** for following this story. Thanks to **UConnHusky90 **for favouriting. And thank you again to **jedi-watchman1** for commenting! You guys are all seriously amazing!  
_

_If you haven't done so already, you should check out my Glee based fanfic starring Darren Criss: s/8159279/1/If-You-Only-Knew  
_

_If you want to connect with me, follow me on Twitter: 11Cassaroo11  
_

_Enjoy this new chapter! Things are starting to happen! :)  
_

* * *

****Chapter Four

**Aylin, Blake, & Michael**

Aylin closed her phone with a smile. She had been looking for an excuse to get out of the house again. After Lily had kicked her out so that she could go talk to Ali, Aylin had wandered around, bored, until she finally headed back home. She couldn't go see Blake or Michael because they were both out working at Mr. Ulrich's farm, so she had no where else to go.

She didn't really have a lot of _real_ friends that she could hang out with. Sure, she had _friends_, but they were mostly just friends with her because she was dating Blake. Before that, she had just been the freaky Muslim girl.

Luckily, no one was home when she had returned home. Her father was out at work and her mother was out visiting a sick friend in the hospital. No one was home to see her sneak in in her day clothes without her hijab, better known as a headscarf. Her parents could sometimes tolerate her wearing what she classified as "normal clothes", but they refused to let her leave the house without her hijab. So, whenever Aylin left the house, she had to wear her hijab.

But, unknown to her parents, as soon as she was out of sight, Aylin would discard her hijab, hiding it away in her purse or backpack, making her feel more like a normal girl. As soon as she stopped wearing it to school, people had started teasing her less. They still had teased her, just not as much as before. But then when she started dating Blake, they stopped teasing her completely. No one wanted to mess with _Blake_'s girl.

That thought made her smile. She was _Blake_'s girl.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Aylin hurriedly put on her swimsuit, a cute polka dot bikini that she had bought without her parents' notice, and covered it with a pair of jeans and a cute t-shirt. She threw some extra clothes into her bag, just in case, along with some extra necessities. At the last second, she threw her hijab in too, just in case her parents were home when she returned.

She quickly slipped outside and grabbed her bike from the shed. As much as she would have liked to ride with Michael and Blake, she couldn't take the risk of someone seeing them pick her up. She had to keep her parents oblivious to the fact that she hung out with boys and she especially had to keep them oblivious to the fact that one of those boys was her boyfriend.

As Aylin neared the pond that she and her friends liked to frequent, she saw the old red pickup and smiled. She stopped beside it, quickly hopping off and leaning her bike up against it. She walked around to the other side of the truck and smiled at the view.

The tall, green trees reflected in the green surface of the pond they were surrounding. The sun shined down and hit the water, making it almost sparkle. Aylin could feel the soft, green grass beneath her feet as she slipped her feet out of her sandals. This place was so perfect and peaceful. It was secluded from the rest of the world, making it the perfect getaway place for her.

"Hey! Aylin!" a familiar voice called out. She turned and smiled, lifting a hand in greeting as she saw Michael over by a tree, holding on to a thick rope.

"Watch this!" he said, taking a couple of steps back before running forward and leaping off of the bank. Aylin watched, a gleeful laugh slipping from her lips, as Michael swung out over the water. He suddenly let go of the rope and dropped down into the water, sending out a huge splash.

"AHHHH AHAHAHAH AHHH!" Blake's voice suddenly filled the air, his body suddenly launching out of the tree. He swung out over the water, still belting out his _Tarzan_ call, before dropping down into the water with another huge splash. There was a huge smile on his face when he surfaced.

"Hey, baby!" he called out to her, making her smile. "Come on in! The water's great!"

"Coming!" she called back with a laugh, quickly pulling off her t-shirt. Cat calls suddenly filled the air and she blushed.

_How did I get so lucky to find a guy like him?_ Aylin wondered as she slid her jeans off.

_How did I get so lucky to get such a hot chick like her? _Blake grinned as his eyes hungrily slid over Aylin's body.

_How did he get so lucky to get such a beautiful girl like her?_ Michael sighed as he longingly gazed at Aylin.

Aylin stepped closer to the water and cautiously stuck her toes in.

"Oh! That's cold!" she squealed, jumping back away from the water's edge.

"Oh, come on, baby!" Blake laughed, swimming over to where she was on the bank. "It's not that bad once you get in!"

Aylin slowly inched toward the water again.

"Are you sure?" she asked, sticking her toes in again.

"Why don't you tell me?" Blake exclaimed, grabbing her foot and pulling into the water. She fell, a loud scream ripping from her throat, and hit the water with a huge splash. She surfaced seconds later, sputtering and enraged, and sent an angry glare at Blake.

"That wasn't very nice!" Michael exclaimed, swimming over and attempting to give Aylin a protective hug, which wasn't easy to do in the water.

"Oh, you guys are such wussies!" Blake laughed, swimming back over to the bank and lifting himself out of the water. He continued to laugh as he walked back over to the tree with the rope. He was apparently the only one who had a sense of humour here! Blake had hoped, no, _expected_ that Michael would side with him, and was shocked and slightly upset that he didn't. Instead, Michael had sided with Aylin.

_Maybe he really is a wuss,_ Blake smirked to himself as he started to climb the tree. It was more fun to jump from a higher branch than from the ground.

Aylin watched her boyfriend walk away and sighed. She slowly turned back to look at Michael, who was still awkwardly hugging her. She gently pushed him away and smiled.

"Thanks," she said, smiling bashfully. "Thanks for defending me. That was really sweet of you."

"Of course," Michael smiled. "I would do _anything_ for you... I mean, like, umm, cause you're my friend... and my _best friend_'s girlfriend and all."

Michael inwardly scolded himself for being so careless with his words. He had meant what he said, of course, but he hadn't meant to actually say it out loud. Luckily, he had been able to cover his tracks by throwing out that "friend" crap. But Michael didn't want to be just her _friend_. He wanted to be so much _more_.

Michael quickly pushed those thoughts away. Aylin was Blake's girl. There was nothing that he could do about that now...

_If only I had talked to her when I had had a chance,_ he sighed, reflecting back to a time before Blake started dating Aylin. Michael had seen Aylin around the school on various occasions and had thought that she was cute, but he had always been to shy to go talk to her. And by the time he finally did muster up the courage to talk to her, he was already too late.

Michael grimaced as he remembered the day that he had planned to ask Aylin out. It was after football practice and Aylin was sitting up on the bleachers where she often sat, watching them practice. Michael had been about to walk over to talk to her when he was called back by their coach.

"Michael, can I speak with you for a moment?" Coach Woodlee called out, stopping his advancement towards the bleachers.

"Umm, yeah, sure," he replied, turning back to face his coach. The man was tall and thin, his long, light brown hair held back from his face by a black beanie. He wore dark jeans and a light grey t-shirt that slightly showed the toned, muscled chest hidden underneath.

He was not the stereotypical-looking coach. He was almost the exact opposite. But he was still one of the best coaches that Michael had ever had, and Michael had played a variety of different sports with a variety of different coaches over the course of his life.

Though he would have preferred to be inside working on a math problem rather than outside practicing sports, he had signed up for the extra-curricular activities to appease his parents. Both had been star athletes in high school and they expected the same from him and his sister... well, half sister.

Michael's father had died when Michael was just over a year old. He had been hit by a drunk driver when walking home from work one night, something of which he often did. Michael had refused to touch alcohol since learning the truth about his father's death, which had been in his first year of high school when he had to research his family's origins for a project. His mother couldn't bring herself to lie about his true origins, and so she finally told him the truth, feeling that he was old enough to know the truth.

The truth had shook him for a while, but he finally accepted the fact that the man that he thought was his father was not actually _his_ father. His mother had remarried not even a year after Michael's actual father's death to the man that Michael had known as his father for practically all of his life. Not long after their wedding, his sister, Ali, was born... his _half_ sister.

But though she was just his half sister, Michael still loved her as if she were his full sister. They had grown up together. Ali was actually the one who had encouraged Michael to sign up for football.

"Michael, I am very impressed with the progress that you've been making," Coach Woodlee smiled. "It's be so good that I'm considering maybe having you run a play as quarterback."

"Really?!" Michael exclaimed, barely able to contain his excitement. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Coach Woodlee smiled. "I think that you're ready. And I'm sure that Blake would understand if I use you for a game instead of him." He motioned to something behind Michael and when Michael turned around he saw Blake... talking to Aylin!

"Michael?" Coach Woodlee's voice called his attention away from his best friend and the girl of his dreams. "How does that sound?"

"That, uh, sounds great, Coach," Michael smiled, his attention not fully on the man. He wanted to run over to where Blake and Aylin were and stop them from talking. Michael knew if Blake wanted Aylin, then he would never have a chance with her. Unfortunately for him, by the time he was finally able to get away from his Coach, they were both gone.

"Michael, come look at this!" Aylin's voice suddenly called his back out of his thoughts. Michael looked over to where she was treading water a little ways away. He quickly swam over to her, curious as to what she had found.

"What am I looking at?" he asked once he reached her.

"Look," she said, pointing down at something under the water. Michael could see some sort of shiny, round object glittering under the water.

_What is that?_ Michael wondered.

"It looks like it might be gold!" Aylin exclaimed excitedly. "Do you think that you could get it?"

"I can try," Michael replied. Taking a deep breath, he dove down under the water. Aylin waited patiently above the water for him to return. Behind her, she could hear Blake dropping down into the water. She was still a little bit mad at him. She hadn't wanted to get her hair wet because then she would have to wait for it to dry before she could go home. If her hair was wet, her parents would know that she was out without her hijab on, and then she would be grounded and most likely not allowed to go to the victory party on Saturday. And she could _not_ let that happen.

"Got it!" Michael sputtered as he surfaced.

"Let's see it!" Aylin said, getting excited again. Michael slowly opened his hand and they both stared down at the golden disk in it.

"It's a medal!" she exclaimed, looking at the water-worn, red, white, and blue ribbon attached to it.

"It's not just any medal," Michael replied softly, looking down at the figures etched into its surface. They were swimmers. "It's _Ali's_ medal."


	5. Chapter 5

_I AM SO SORRY! It's been almost two months since I updated this! I've just been so busy with school and sidetracked with my other stories that I almost forgot about this one! Thank you **jedi-watchman1** for commenting and alerting me to my terrible mistake! Thank you also to **UConnHusky90** and **areuacat** for commenting. Thank you **areuacat** for favouriting and subscribing! I will try to post more for this story soon! I'm about to go on my Christmas break so I'll have more time for writing soon. I already know what's going to happen in the next chapter, if you haven't already guessed yet, so I won't have writer's block for it at least :) _

_Enjoy! :)  
_

* * *

Chapter Five

**Ali, Lily, & Michael**

Ali waited anxiously for Lily to arrive. Michael's words had really gotten to her. She needed to forgive Lily. She needed to forgive her _friend_. Her _best _friend. Before the night of the accident, Lily had been Ali's best friend. They were so close that they were like sisters. And the truth was, Ali actually really missed talking to Lily. They used to talk to each other _every_ day, but now Ali had not talked to her since that life changing day months ago.

At first, Ali had avoided her because she was angry and hurt. She couldn't understand why this had happened to her, why she had lost the use of her legs while Lily had walked away with only a few scratches. Ali had hated her for it. She was the one who was responsible for the accident, and yet she had gotten off pretty much scott-free. Ali had wanted to make her pay. She wanted her to feel her pain. So she did the only thing that she could do. She shunned her.

It started with ignoring her phone calls and text messages. Then she refused to see her when she came to visit. Then she did something really drastic. She de-friended her on _Facebook_. Ali thought that she needed to be punished for what happened, but what she didn't know was that Lily was being punished, more harshly than she ever knew.

Everywhere Lily went, people would stop and stare at her, pointing and whispering, "That's _her_!" Her, the girl who had caused her best friend to become handicapped, stuck in a wheelchair forever, unable to ever walk again. Lily's cheeks would flare with shame and embarrassment and she'd lower her head to avoid their leering eyes.

But Ali never knew about this. How could she? She barely ever left the house.

_Ding Dong._

The doorbell. Ali felt her heart starting to race. She was here.

"Ali, Lily's here!" her mom called out.

"I-I'm in my room!" Ali replied, her insides twisting up into nervous knots. A couple seconds later, the door slowly opened and Ali saw caramel brown hair. The other girl slowly looked up at her, cautious of how she would react.

"_Lily_," Ali whispered softly, her voice cracking slightly as she said her best friend's name.

"Oh Ali!" Lily cried, hurrying forward and throwing her arms around the small, blonde girl.

"I'm so sorry!" Lily sobbed into her friend's shoulder. "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! I'm so-"

"Shhhh," Ali hushed, gently stroking Lily's hair. "It's okay, Lily. It's okay." Lily slowly pulled away, looking at her with tear-filled eyes.

"I forgive you, Lily," Ali said softly, surprising herself. Did she? She thought about it for a moment. She didn't fully forgive her, but at the same time she did. "I miss my best friend."

"Oh Ali!" Lily cried again, throwing her arms around the girl again. "I've missed you so much!"

"Can we go back to being friends again?" Ali asked softly. "I just... I just really need my best friend again. I've missed you. I've missed talking to you. I miss the way you could always make me laugh. I miss how you always knew what to say to make me smile. I missed _you_."

"I've missed you too," Lily replied softly, pulling away to look her in the eyes. "I am so sorry about what happened. I will spend every day of my life trying to make it up to you. I-"

"Please," Ali held up her hand, silencing her. "I don't want to talk about that anymore. I just want to go back to being friends."

"Okay," Lily nodded slowly, moving over to the bed and sitting down on it. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know," Ali shrugged. "What's new? What have I missed?"

"Not much..." Lily shrugged. "Aylin and Blake are dating, though I'm sure that Michael would have told you that." Ali nodded.

"Yeah, he keeps me up to date on the town gossip," she grinned. "I don't get out much anymore..."

"Well, why don't you come out with us to the party tonight," Lily suggested with a smile.

"Party?" Ali questioned, tilting her head slightly. "What party? Michael didn't tell me about any party."

"It's at Lim's place," Lily explained, getting excited. "His parents are out of town and _everyone's_ going! Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Alright," Ali smiled. "It'd be nice to see everyone again. I just hope that they don't all stare at me because I'm... you know." She gestured down at her wheelchair.

"I'm sure they won't," Lily said softly. "They're your friends. They still love you just as much as they always did. Let's not think about things like that. We have to decide what to wear tonight!"

Once Ali's attention was turned away from Lily, she quickly pulled out her phone and sent a quick text.

Lily: Hey Lim! I'm bringing Ali with me tonight. Can you give people the heads up not to stare? She's really self-conscious about that. Thnx! xxoo

Lim: Sure thing! :p

_There, _Lily grinned, turning her attention back on Ali as she slid her phone back into her pocket. _That should help things._

"What do you think of this one?" Ali asked, holding up a gray long sleeved shirt that had one pink stripe running along the chest, sitting above a bunch of white and black stripes. "I can wear my black pants with it... what do you think?"

"It's perfect!" Lily grinned. "And I could wear my pink and blue shirt with my black pants! This is going to be so much fun! Just like old times again!"

"Yeah!" Ali smiled, though inside her stomach was bubbling with nerves. Was she really up to this? This would be the first time that people had really seen her out in her wheelchair. What if they stared or made awkward comments? What if her chair didn't fit through the door? What if-

"_Ali!_" her brother's angry voice cut off her thoughts. The door to her room slammed open and Michael stormed in, clutching something tightly in his right hand.

"Want to explain to me why I found _this_ at the bottom of the pond?!" he demanded, throwing the object down on her bed. Ali slowly reached over and picked it up, though she was certain that she already knew what it was.

"My medal..." she said softly, stroking the gold circle.

"So again I ask, why was it at the bottom of the pond?" Michael snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. Ali felt tears starting to prick her eyes.

"I was in a dark mood last month and I couldn't bear to look at it anymore," Ali admitted quietly. "It kept reminding me of what I'd never be able to do again, so I put it in a place that I'd never be able to go." She looked up at her older brother with tear filled eyes. "I regretted it the moment that I did it, but I couldn't take back what I had done."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Michael asked, his eyes softening as he moved over and sat down on the bed so that he was down at her level. "I could have gotten it back for you."

"I was embarrassed," Ali sniffed. "I was ashamed of what I'd done and I was too afraid to tell you the truth. Mom thought that I had just taken it down. She didn't know that I had actually lost it."

"Ali, you don't ever have to be ashamed or afraid to tell me anything, okay?" Michael said softly, gently taking her hands in his and giving them a light squeeze. "I love you, Ali. I would do anything for you, you know that, right?"

Ali nodded.

"Good," he smiled, looking and noticing Lily for the first time. "Lily! It's so good to see you here! This place just wasn't the same without you here."

"It's good to see you too," Lily laughed. "And I know what you mean. It felt weird not being here all the time."

"So what are you ladies up to tonight?" Michael asked, his eyes catching the shirt lying on the bed. "Going out?"

"Yeah, Lim's party," Ali grinned. "Which _you_," She lightly punched his arm. "Didn't tell me about!"

"Wait, Lim's having a party tonight?" Michael asked, looking at them with confusion. "Since when?"

"He sent out a mass invite on _Facebook_ this morning," Lily replied. "His parents are out of town tonight so he invited like everyone over."

"Oh, well, I haven't been on my _Facebook_ much lately," Michael shrugged. "I've been too busy helping out on Mr. Ulrich's farm and hanging out with Blake and Aylin."

"I'm surprised that Blake didn't tell you," Lily commented. "He's already marked down as going."

"Oh," Michael remarked softly. "Well, it must have just slipped his mind or something."

_Why didn't he tell me? _Michael wondered. _He knows that I don't use my _Facebook_ much anymore..._

"Well, I'm going to go jump through the shower then and start getting ready," Michael said, standing up. "Do you guys need a ride?"

"That'd be great," Lily smiled.

_Since I lost my driver's license and can't drive anymore,_ she sighed to herself.

"Alright," Michael nodded, heading for the door. "I'll try not to take too long getting ready."

"Michael, you're sound like a girl!" Ali teased, to which he just shot her a glare, sticking his tongue out before he disappeared out the door.

"I wish I had a brother like him," Lily sighed. "It sucks being an only child sometimes."

"Trust me, once you see his room, you'll be thankful that you are!" Ali joked.

"I heard that!" Michael called from across the hall. "And my room is not that bad!"

"Oh and is that why Mom had to go in there with a gas mask on?" Ali called back, trying to hold back her giggles.

"That was _one_ time!" Michael exclaimed.

"Suuuuure it was," Ali teased. He made no response except for a small _humph_ sound, which made both Lily and Ali break out in a fit of giggles.

"Come on," Lily said once they finally stopped laughing. "Let's get ready."

**~ Meanwhile ~**

**Blake & Aylin**

"I could just stay here forever," Blake smiled, snuggling closer to Aylin. They were laying in the sun on a blanket that Blake had brought, letting the hot rays warm their bodies.

"We can't," Aylin laughed. "The party is tonight, remember?"

_The party?_ Blake blinked. _What party?_ Blake struggled to remember what party they were supposed to attend that night.

"Remember?" Aylin repeated, nudging her boyfriend's side. "Lim's _parent-free_ party?"

"Right!" Blake exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "Do we really have to go?"

"Blake, he's your friend and you told him that you would come," Aylin sighed. "That _we_ would come. Think of how disappointed he would be if we didn't go!" When Blake let out a deep sigh, Aylin continued. "And just think, they might play spin the bottle." She gave him a flirty wink as she sat up.

"Oh, alright," he laughed, sitting up as well. "But only if we rig the bottle for our turns so that we'll only land on each other."

"Ooo!" Aylin laughed. "Is that a hint of jealousy I hear?"

"Maybe," he grinned. "Because I want mine to be the only lips you'll kiss." He slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, as if to prove his point.

"Don't worry," she sighed happily once he pulled away. "Yours are the only ones I want to."

"Good," he smiled, standing up and offering his hand to her. "I guess that we should get going then, since we're expected to make an appearance tonight."

"I guess so," she agreed, taking his hand and letting him help her to her feet. "How are you going to get home? Michael was your ride..."

"Ever rode on handlebars before?" Blake asked mischievously, walking over and picking up her bike as she quickly rolled up the blanket and stuck it in her bag.

"You want me to sit on the handlebars?" she exclaimed. "Is that even safe?"

Blake just shrugged, "It'll be fun."

With a reluctant sigh, Aylin slowly went over and, with some help from Blake, sat up on the handlebars.

"Here we go!" he whispered excitedly in her ear as he pushed away from the ground and started pedaling. Aylin let out a slight squeal as they started to tip slightly, but Blake quickly regained control and soon they were soaring easily down the path.

"Trust me!" Blake laughed, raising his voice to be heard over the wing whipping past their faces. "I won't let you fall!"

"I trust you!" she replied, though she unconsciously tightened her grip on the handlebars.

In no time at all, they were suddenly stopping in front of Blake's house. Aylin quickly slid down off the handlebars, holding the bike steady as Blake got off.

"I'll pick you up in half an hour?" Blake said, leaning down to give her a kiss goodbye. "But park across the street, I remember." He added before she could say anything.

"I love you," she whispered softly, surprising Blake. This was the first time that she had ever said that to him.

"I love you too, Aylin," he whispered back, giving her another light kiss. "I'll see you in half an hour, okay?" She slowly nodded and he smiled. "See you soon then."

He then turned and headed up the driveway to his house, leaving behind a very flustered and happy girl.

_He loves me,_ she grinned to herself. _He loves me. _


End file.
